


Missing Pieces

by idrilhadhafang



Series: Forks in the Road [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dark Kylo Ren, Gen, Minor Poe Dameron/Ben Solo, Rational Cast, Rational Fic, at least my attempt at it, category may change, minor Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: A reinterpretation of The Force Awakens a la Harry Potter and the Methods Of Rationality — or at least trying to be.





	Missing Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Well, here we go. I’m no Eliezer Yudkowsky (a.k.a. the writer of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality), but I got this idea after ranting about how the backstory for the Sequel Trilogy makes zero sense. And here we are. 
> 
> “Let Snoke have his own apprentice” was a line paraphrased from Pet Sematary. As for why Kylo seems so different here, this is not romanticizing the First Order as much as trying to make them actually act intelligent.

It had been years since anyone had seen Luke Skywalker in known space. 

Leia knew, of course, where he’d be. Before he had left, he had asked her to stay, to keep the Resistance strong against the First Order no matter what it took. Leia was not about to break that promise to him, no matter what it took. 

He had given her the remaining pieces of a map in Artoo’s memory in order to find him. Only one piece was missing, and Leia couldn’t help but ask Artoo where exactly the rest of the map was. “We can’t find Luke in case we need him with half a map.”

Artoo had agreed whole-heartedly, before saying that Lor San Tekka held the other half of the map. Tekka, as an explorer and scholar in Jedi lore, was skilled in such things. Of course. It made sense. 

Protect the Resistance. Stand strong no matter what. You can’t allow the monsters to win. Leia had known this ever since she was a girl — her foster father had taught her well, when she had struggled against the Empire with him. 

As an older woman, and not the naive girl she was, she knew it more than ever. 

Her son was out there. Searching for the map to his uncle, no doubt to get Luke to join him. To bring a new order to the galaxy. She’d heard that before under the Empire, and it was no different. Just more fascism, dressed in reasonable-sounding clothing. 

The Empire had been the same way. 

Footsteps. Poe Dameron approached her in that moment, brow furrowed in worry. “You okay?”

Leia nodded. “Fine,” she said. “It’s been a long night.”

Poe nodded before walking towards her. “You wanted me for a mission?”

Of course she did. Poe was dedicated to the cause, to the Resistance, ingenious, daring. It was no wonder she chose him, along with his caring for others that was so very needed in this galaxy. 

“We picked up news that Lor San Tekka may have the last piece of the map,” she said. “Unfortunately...Ben is also after it.”

”Of course he is.” Poe already sounded discouraged, and her heart ached for him. After all, he hadn’t taken it well when he had learned of Ben’s betrayal. He’d ranted, screamed, cursed the Force itself for shoving Ben into a role he was never meant to be. “ _Let Snoke have his own kriffing apprentice!”_ Leia couldn’t say that she necessarily disagreed with him. Poe was right. Unfortunately, the Force was all but impervious to a young man’s tears, and Ben couldn’t hear him from across the galaxy. “General — is there a way to save him?”

Leia paused. Then, “It’s possible, Poe. I’ve felt him in the Force. I’ve felt the conflict in him.” That had been an understatement. Ben’s conflict howled in a voice of its own. 

“That’s...good, isn’t it?” Poe said. 

“There may be hope. Hope is like a sun, after all.”

She didn’t need to elaborate further. Poe already knew the rest. 

“Be careful out there, Poe,” she said. “And remember what Atton Rand said. Remember what you learned.” The former Sith operative had used techniques on Jedi that were repulsive...but they needed all the resources they could to fight the Knights of Ren. 

***

”You must have come to Jakku on a dangerous road.”

Lor San Tekka’s voice was a whisper in the tent even as he sat with Poe a while. 

Poe nodded. Lor San Tekka took out the last piece of the map to Skywalker. “This will soon begin to make things right,” he said. “I have seen the despair in the galaxy, the suffering. We need our heroes, more than ever. We need Luke Skywalker.”

”I know,” Poe said. “The General’s been after this for a long time.”

”General?” Tekka said. “To me, she’s royalty.”

It was then that BB-8, Poe’s droid, wheeled into the tent, beeping frantically. Poe squatted down next to the droid. “What is it, buddy?” Then his eyes widened. “Oh, stars...they’ve found us. We need to get the map to safety.”

He slipped the last piece of the map in BB-8, idly reflecting on how the General had done the same with Artoo and the Death Star plans, long ago, before he was born. “Get out of here,” he said. “Save the map. Save yourself. I’ll catch up.”

BB-8 beeped in dismay, but did so. Poe stepped out of the tent in that moment and prepared for battle. 

Stormtroopers. Not just that, but assassins that seemed out of the days of the Old Republic. They were just about everywhere, kicking the doors down and rounding up civilians for questioning. Poe shot at the stormtroopers and assassins, felling them one by one. Tekka joined in as well, though if Poe didn’t know better, he looked regretful. After all, no one knew where those troopers came from, what their names were (not numbers but names) and what led them so far from home.

One stormtrooper he spared — a stormtrooper that stopped near his fallen friend. Poe lowered his blaster. He wasn’t about to do this.

A whoosh of air overhead signaled a familiar shuttle as Poe looked up in that moment. Ben’s shuttle. Poe had heard stories, of how Ben’s shuttle arrived when things couldn’t get any worse. He still wondered what lies Snoke had told Ben to lead Ben so far astray. 

He raised his blaster. It would be so easy to shoot in that moment, to disable Ren’s ship. 

He couldn’t do it. 

The shuttle landed, and Ben — Kylo Ren — advanced from the shuttle. 

***

It had been ten years since he had seen Poe Dameron. 

Even as he advanced towards the pilot, as the stormtroopers dragged him towards Kylo Ren, Kylo couldn’t help but notice that Poe had actually wanted to kill him. Just a moment, a fleeting thought, but fleeting thoughts said volumes. On Jakku, on Tuanul, the thoughts of terrified civilians all but filled Kylo Ren’s head, fear over what would happen to them. 

They were only doing what was necessary, in the end.

They weren’t going to burn the village, or kill anyone. Snoke had explicitly called it “thuggish”, and they weren’t thugs. But the civilians were complicit in hiding a terrorist, two terrorists as much as Kylo hated calling Poe Dameron that. 

For every semblance of order that attempted to be formed, a new form of terrorism emerged. 

That was what he was born to do. Fight against threats to order, at whatever cost. 

He paused even as he drew up next to Poe Dameron. He could remember better times, developing more sexual and romantic feelings for his best friend. Talking about his uncle’s informal training of him. Plenty more. 

“Where is it, Poe?” he said. 

Poe steeled himself, or attempted to. As much as you could when a masked figure was circling him, really. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

The old man spoke. “Leave him.”

Kylo knew what he had to do. Just to silence the old man, no matter what. 

He froze the both of them in place. A trick that he had learned long ago from his uncle. It seemed that some things stayed with you no matter what happened. His uncle had thought he’d become a monster, tried to save him. He didn’t realize that he didn’t need saving when he was right. 

“Your orders, sir?” Captain Phasma marched over. She was a striking figure in her unusual chrome armor. 

“Put them onboard.” Kylo said. "They may yet have useful information.”

Phasma merely nodded. 

There were plenty of ships to herd the villagers in like cattle. Poe and the old man he saved for last. Poe...he doubted he could torture Poe even if Snoke hadn’t found torture to be crude. They would have to find a way to get the information out of someone, anyone. 

Kylo only hoped they could do it with some practicality. 


End file.
